Glenn Howard and Sven Michel kicked off the Syncrude National with wins during Draw 1 action in Fort McMurray, Alta., on Wednesday.
Howard, from Penetanguishene, Ont., earned a 6-3 victory after seven ends against Toronto’s Travis Fanset while Michel stunned Tim Hortons Brier champion Kevin Koe 5-4.
Howard led 2-1 after four ends and padded his lead with a three-ender in the fifth. Fanset closed the gap with a deuce in the sixth but Howard added a single in the seventh.
Meanwhile, Koe’s Calgary rink led 2-0 after three ends before Michel’s team pulled ahead after scoring three in the fourth and adding single steals in the fifth and sixth. Koe’s team was missing third Pat Simmons, who’s flight into Fort McMurray was cancelled and he couldn’t make it in time for the game.
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Elsewhere, Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock edged Winnipeg’s Jeff Stoughton 6-5 in the extra end. Stoughton, the defending National champion, trailed 5-2 but tied it with a deuce in the seventh and a steal of one in the eighth to force the extra frame.
Brad Gushue, from St. John’s, N.L., scored a single in the extra end to beat Sweden’s Niklas Edin 6-5 and Edmonton’s Kevin Martin defeated Yusuke Morozumi from Japan 6-5 to close out Draw 1.
The National is the third leg of the Grand Slam of Curling. Howard won the Masters on Nov. 3 while Koe took home the Canadian Open two weeks later.
